Rocky: On Reflection

By Simon Turner

One of the sad things about growing up, is the number of activities you enjoyed as a teenager, which no longer hold the same fascination. I glance through old children’s programmes on retro cable channels and wonder why on earth I spent hours devoted to them. My 2018 eyes, clouded with life experience, cynicism and a “seen it all before” weariness, lose attention very quickly, in a manner that those of 1982 would not.

With this in mind, I recently watched the Rocky series again. I have lost count how many times I have seen the fight at the end of Rocky on flaky VHS. I regarded the rest of the film, as mere filler to the main event, rather as mainstream media boxing coverage often overlooks an undercard.

A key difference for the 40 something Simon, was an ability to see the narrative as a whole film through a different prism. It was not just about a boxer getting a shot at glory or a beautifully crafted love story. Rather, my reappraisal saw it as a story of 4 people, who are all in life’s “last chance saloon.” The film takes us on their journey to see whether they are leaving the saloon through the front door and into opportunities denied so far, or the back door and into oblivion.

All 4 characters have begun their arc at the start of the film. We see Rocky’s first fight and a hint of the cynical boxing world, as his winning purse fee after being head butted by an opponent & referred to as a bum by a punter, is reduced for various other “cuts”.

He is a single man of an age when many are married and ridiculed by a teenage girl to whom he is unable to administer parental advice which she takes seriously. Further, he is living in the scruffiest apartment, working hard to woo a girl many would ignore, or simply not notice. His prospects are slim and retirement beckons with no hurrah in sight. Even his locker has been trashed and re-allocated to a hopeful newcomer, skid row in the gym and in life.

This, in short is a saloon, no one would choose for themselves, or anyone close to them.

By the end of the film, the most obvious triumph is a dual one. Rocky has gone the distance in the ring and found love outside, confirmed in the final dialogue before the credits roll. The sequels, then deal with his life now that he is drinking in surroundings, which become far more palatial in Rocky 3 and 4.

Adrian, for her part, is hidden behind granny glasses and animal or pet cages, an obvious and much remarked on metaphor. There is no obvious way out of this saloon bar either through lack of openings, romantic or career wise or her own timid nature. She undergoes almost the same physical transformation as we see in Stallone. As Rocky progresses from looking little more than a middleweight to the musclebound man in Rocky 3, so Adrian too is transformed by the third episode. The glasses are gone, the hair is fabulously lush and her outward confidence displays a woman a world away from the character in the pet shop.

No boxing film is complete without the knarled trainer, but Burgess Meredith develops this character beyond the usual stereotype. Arguably the most touching scene in the film, about which a whole essay could be written, is the one where Mickey visits Rocky in his apartment and asks to be his manager. Mickey’s opportunity to exit the saloon has arrived, but he needs Rocky to take him through the door. It’s a scene which made no impact at all on my teenage self, but when it ends with Rocky’s arm around the older man’s shoulder, even the most cynical of eyes are moistened. Dialogue is redundant as Rocky makes sure Mickey and he are exiting the saloon together.

Watching the whole series again, forced a re-examination of Paulie. Part of me thought he was simply a dramatic device, there to provide the catalyst between Rocky and Adrian. He offers some humour, acts as a tee up for scenes such as the beef punching in the abattoir and provides a constant reminder of where the other 3 characters have come from, by the time we get to the heady heights of Rocky 3 & 4.

Paulie is the one of the quartet of characters who does not make it out of the saloon. The closing scene in Rocky shows him unsuccessfully trying to get into the ring and the opening scene in Rocky 3 shows him vent his frustration on a pinball machine before swinging his fists at Rocky.

Paulie’s arc, shows the audience that not everyone, will walk out of the front door of this mythical saloon. Rocky 5 shows him as responsible for Rocky’s cash being lost and the original trio of characters (minus Mickey), are back in the surroundings of the saloon. This is an arc that has gone 360 rather than the traditional 180 degrees. The difference for Paulie is that at his high point, he has only been a side player and a member of the entourage, rather than a fully fledged success in his own right.

Like all the great films, Rocky and its sequels work on a number of levels and I was both surprised and pleased to enjoy the first one afresh, as much as my teenage self did, and discover a new perspective.

This led me to reappraise the other episodes in the original 6 films up to Rocky Balboa in 2007. All of them have something to offer and themes relevant to boxing today which I will explore in future articles.